Born in Dhaka, East Pakistan to an English mother and Bengali father, Monica Ali arrived in the UK at the age of three. She studied at the University of Oxford and graduated with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
Ali’s debut novel, Brick Lane – a gloriously crafted and deeply affecting story reflecting life in London’s Bangladeshi community – was published in 2003 to critical acclaim: the same year, Ali was named as one of Granta’s 'Best of Young British Novelists' and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Brick Lane was followed by Alentejo Blue (2006), In the Kitchen (2009) and Untold Story (2011). Her most recent novel, Love Marriage (2022), tells the unputdownable story of a young couple on the doorstep of marriage whose families from two different cultures try to understand each other.
Ali was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2019 and her work has been translated into 26 languages.
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